Back and forth on Kurume City training camp kills team spirit

Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed, NOCK President Paul Tergat and Sports PS Joe Okudo put pen to paper with FuKuoka Prefecture Deputy Governor Akie Oomaga and Kurume City Vice Mayor Toshitaka Nakashim [Courtesy]

When Kenya signed a Memorandum of Understanding two months ago with Japan’s Kurume City to host the national team for a 12-day pre-Olympic camp, it raised a ray of hope.

Sports enthusiasts and government officials made a chorus of calls to have Team Kenya surpass the 2016 Rio Olympics medal haul – the best-ever Olympic outing for us. There was also talk on a rich history of Tokyo in Kenya's Olympic charts. This is where Wilson Kiprugut Chumo won Kenya’s first Olympic medal (bronze in 800m) in 1964.